40 Dei - Previews Wed to Friday

They seemed to go well. Very well. But it is always a hard transition. The good run through in the empty theatre is one thing; the free previews with crying babies, 5-8 year olds who don’t really understand anything and are bored except for the singing and the drunken fights; the unruly elements of the youth centre - these are a very different experience! In fact one of the proofs that it must be OK is that for great portions of the play most of the youth too listened intently. And there is the coming and going, the late comers, those who wander out, come back in; the ushers, who insist on bringing in latecomers in the middle of a very intense scene. A world away from western ‘theatres’. Occasionally I wish it was a bit more like that and then I sit through something like the terribly worthy Major Barbara or the dreadful, but much beloved by most, Coram Boy, both at the UK National theatre and you hanker for this come one come all theatre we have here. Although even the actors are discussing whether we couldn’t offer the little kiddies a free movie show in one of our other spaces! But you know when you manage to hold two thirds of the audiences attention in this atmosphere that you’ve really achieved something and the feedback has been great. AusAID fund a social program with churches here and three people involved, 2 local and one Australian, came to the show. We were a little apprehensive, would we be castigated before we’d even opened? They were friendly and said they had to leave early so when they did, we shouldn’t take it as a protest. I watched them as much as the show! They appeared to be enjoying it hugely. Brian the Australian rang the next day to say they had talked of nothing else, how much they had enjoyed it and word had been spread through the Presbyterian church and they were encouraging all church members to go. The only slight fear I have is that they left before the more controversial scenes about political and church cronyism, attitude to prisoners etc.

Another awkward moment with the washing line, which could have seriously damaged both runners on . Vero runs on carrying it shoulder high; I don’t know how she’d coiled it up before the show but she runs four paces and stops, startled, as half of it seems coiled round her neck. She slips out from under it and crosses the stage but perhaps the incident led to loss of concentration because she forgets to leave it at floor level until the other line holder has crossed over it. Joyce thankfully converts into a high jump specialist and jumps over Vero’s line a milli -second before it would have served as the perfect trip wire and sent her flying into the audience.

Charlie rings on Thursday to say his Dad may be on the way out; he seems to have had a minor stroke overnight and so if we want to see him we should probably come quickly. We go to Charlie’s house. Enos, his father, is sitting up in bed. He can’t control the movement in his left arm and hand, which keeps closing involuntarily. But for a man whose kidneys have packed up, whose wife died a week and a half ago, and knows he too is waiting for the end, he was very lucid, amusing and alert. Jo and I sat there with him, with Charlie and sister, and talked of so many things. Apparently tree ringworm, which we are beset with at home, is best cured by pissing on the tree; would Jo and I go into a business venture with Charlie to start an oil mill on his land? The virtues of Weightwatchers and pedometers. Land disputes on Malo. But often back to his wish for us to have a joint land/business venture with Charlie; a man trying to put his affairs in order at the end.